Problem 1: On weeks where I can stick to my new meal plans, uninterrupted, then it's easier to have self control. But when something throws them off, it feels like everything is a disorganized mess and I get stressed out and since it's a mess anyway self-control tanks. For small interruptions like a doctor's appointment usually the issue is snack time, not dinner, and that only effects the one day.
Solution: Shake Up Meal Planning
I combated that on Thanksgiving week by making it Good Housekeeping week. I mentioned that I make at least one Good Housekeeping recipe as part of dinner on Sunday nights. After caving on the Sunday before Thanksgiving to a no-no I decided to make cooking fun by doing Good Housekeeping recipes all week. For my small appointment/snack time problems I have made my snack plans more flexible so I don't feel thrown off.
Did it Work?: We ate healthy and it was a lot of fun! I shouldn't always need something this extreme, unless it's Christmas week. My new snack plans have worked for the small interruptions. Today I needed a snack timed during my walk so I extended the walk to include a popular local general store and got a banana.
Problem 2: Emotional and Stress eating.
That problem was made worse by the fact I had been called for jury duty and wouldn't be able to serve due to my tremendous fear of heights. I had asked my Psychologist for a note but he lost all communication services in the storm until this past Monday. I got a note the Friday before Thanksgiving from my regular doctor but spent the entire month jittery. It's my third biggest fear, being called for Jury Duty. And that's what I said when I emailed Gov. Christie on Tuesday the 13th. I explained our situation and my fear of heights. I explained that my Psychologist would write the note but because of the storm I couldn't contact him and asked if he could write the letter. He responded in an email this past Tuesday. He sent what I said to the Administrator of the Courts (acting) and that guy will respond to me but he said he appreciated my sharing our story. I also thanked him for doing the best anyone can do with the storm. I know the response was from someone in his office and that the email was crazy to send but that's the level of fear and desperation I held at the moment.
Solution: I have started a chart (below) to take note about what I am having, when, and why as well as a motivation. This chart includes successful times when I did something non-food that worked to help my emotional and stress related issues. As I track my triggers it'll be easier to automatically make better choices and that will help end the unnecessary eating.
Ironically, since I don't work and my son is young I would have been exempt anyway and received a letter in the mail today confirming that. As of Tuesday they hadn't received my form and my note from my regular doctor (who I had asked for a note from before I emailed Christie but hadn't heard back in a few days and he wasn't going to be in until Thursday when I emailed Christie.)
Did it work?: It's too soon to tell, I made the chart today starting this afternoon. However, it's off to a good start. I had a stressful afternoon and was exhausted by the time I had to start making dinner. BUT, I had an alternative. I had gotten a sweater to go with my orange shirt set and yellow shirt set for Winter. Zach and I decorated on Tuesday when he was home with a cold so I'm officially in my Winter wardrobe. The sleeves on the replaced sweater were roll ups though and weren't comfortable. With a fantastic sale and a great coupon I got a better sweater from Kohl's tonight.....instead of that extra glass of wine while watching Big Bang as I originally planned. The new sweater looks great and feels great. I had been eyeing that sweater since it came out in late September and the whole time had a feeling I would get it. When I needed it, it was the lowest price I had seen it for and my size was right at eye level. The other sweater is pretty and if you like sleeves that can cover your palms or be rolled up to wrist length then you would like it but I found that to be annoying all day today. Oddly, it's part of what caused my stress. As for Zach's cold, he spent all of Tuesday afternoon jumping around so he's been in school since. Except for a little coughing and a rough afternoon (leading to my rough afternoon) he's himself. Bad days happen. He didn't seem sick today but was fussy this afternoon including resisting nap time.........for 45 minutes!
Problem 3: Random Cravings
Solution: Have a healthy version, or the healthiest version possible, of the food/drink.
Last night I was craving reduced fat sour cream. I don't know where it came from but I really wanted some. I tried to making homemade sweet potato chips to dunk in the sour cream.
Did it work?: Not the sweet potato chips. I had seen the recipe a few times but not recently and didn't have one in front of me when I tried to make them. It would have worked if I made them right, Eventually, I just had 1/2 a cup of sour cream and onion real chips dunked in sour cream. I should have had the celery with the sour cream. But the celery is another alternative (and a healthier one) so I would do this again.
Bottom line: It's worth a try but that depends on your craving and what's available. It's not always going to be doable but you'll feel better if the craving gets satisfied in a non-guilty way.
Problem 4: Just Can't Give Up Stuff
Solution: Have them but in limited amounts.
I can't give up a lot of things decaf coffee, soda, salami, my 250ml 1 glass of wine a night, Friday take out, Sunday pancakes, hot dogs on Saturdays and Sundays for lunch. I tried giving up soda and salami but I just couldn't do it. By denying myself these things I found myself eating even worse foods. So I had to make it work. That list you will see below in my current diet.
Did it work? YES! I find myself eating less overall then before and it is easier to otherwise eat healthier because the things I really want are included in my regular menu. It's easier to resist the temptations of other foods now.
edit: So I did stop the hot dogs, I subbed them for pre-grilled chicken wraps with lettuce, cheese, and honey mustard dressing. I had to give them up. I have less salami too but couldn't give them up completely. Sometimes you have to re-evalutate your must list but when talking about a rest-of-your-life diet there are just some things that aren't going to be changed. I recommend the grilled chicken wraps (unseasoned whole wheat see below)
Problem 5: Sometimes Chocolate is the best medicine
Solution: 4 M&Ms (1 of each color in the package). It satisfies that uncontrollable need for chocolate with easy portion control. If you are finding yourself popping a Tylenol most days to deal with stress (or the physical problems that come with stress) that will harm your body more then the 4 M&Ms. Those little guys were the best thing for my sanity while dealing with the jury duty stress.
Did It Work?: For me, yes. That's because I can limit myself as long as I have had at least a little. I used to let Josh buy Burger King for dinner on these days since that's my ultimate comfort food but I didn't need that on the really rough days because I had the M&Ms. But that's the key, save it for really bad days. I don't get many of those.
My Current Meal Plan:
*Note: I don't add salt or pepper to anything even if in the recipe.
*I used to have a cracker and like 4oz of juice each morning but the new bedtime snack has made that unnecessary except for mornings Josh is home so I can sleep late. That replaces the day snacks.
Monday - Thursday
Breakfast:
1 cup decaf coffee with 1/4 c creamer and 2 equals
Special K with Fresh blueberries, sliced unsalted almonds and 1% milk
Snack:
string cheese or 2 thin slices from cheese log
fruit or 1 stalk celery with 1% no salt added cottage cheese
Lunch:
1 can coke
Salad with lite creamy Caesar dressing
12 grapes
1/4 c natural vanilla yogurt
6 slices Genoa salami, 1 slice American cheese, 1 leaf lettuce, and mustard on whole wheat sandwich
Dinner:
See Chart
Water or Milk
Note: I found I was not cooking because I was bored of the same meals year round but this is really working and includes all family favorites The orange is a backup in case there is no family dinner that week but that is usually family dinner with my parents.
Bedtime:
water
250ml wine sometimes a little bit more
1 slice of whole wheat bread with cheddar and tomato slices in the broiler. (garlic powder, oregano and basil spices on it)
Friday
Breakfast:
coffee (same as above)
2 eggs usually over easy
Sometimes 2 slices fried salami but I get as much fat off as possible with a paper towel
Lunch:
coke
either fancy sandwiches or pizza with my parents (3 slices of the 14inch (medium)) but that's because I don't eat the crust)
Snack:
Cheese/fruit/celery with cottage cheese pick one
Dinner:
soda and takeout
Bedtime:
see Mon-Thurs
Saturday
Early Snack:
1 reduced fat ritz with the salt scraped off
4oz reduced fat cran grape juice
Breakfast:
same as Friday
Lunch:
Grilled Chicken, unseasoned (reheated)
Romain Lettuce
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Honey Mustard Dressing
Whole Wheat Wrap
1 can coke
Snack:
Same as during the week.
Dinner:
see below
Bedtime snack:
water
wine
Leftover London Broil
Sunday
Early Snack:
cracker
juice
Breakfast:
coffee
2 blueberry pancakes (sometimes also with chocolate chips)
2 small sausage links
Lunch:
same as Saturday
Snack:
same as during the week
Dinner:
see chart
Bedtime snack:
same as Saturday or same as Friday
| Meal Planning | ||
| Warm Weather (May 1 - October 31) | ||
| Saturday | London Broil, Green Beans, and Pasta Salad | |
| Sunday | ***Good Housekeeping Night*** | |
| Monday | Minute Steak, Green Beans and Pasta Salad | |
| Tuesday | Rosemary Sage Chicken, Broccoli, and Rolls | |
| Wednesday | Burgers and Fries | |
| Thursday | Honey Mustard Salmon, Salad and Brown Rice | |
| Cold Weather (November 1 - April 30) | ||
| Saturday | London Broil, Green Beans, and Baked Potatoes | |
| Sunday | *** Good Housekeeping Night*** | |
| Monday | Chicken Catchatore, Salad, and Spaghetti | |
| Tuesday | Lemon-Garlic Salmon, Garlic Spinach, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes | |
| Wednesday | Burgers and Fries | |
| Thursday | Breaded Chicken, Stuffing & Broccoli | |
| Date | Time | What Ate | What Happened | Motivation |
| 11/27/2012 | 5:30pm | Chinese | Puddle at the kitchen sink and all day snow | Cook the planned dinner then take relaxation time |
| 11/28/2012 | 6:00pm | Dinner Wine | Fixing the kitchen sink and no water all day | It was 1/2 a glass I can't feel guilty on this one |
| 11/28/2012 | 10:30pm | Chips | Really craved Chips and my attempted at homemade sweet potato Chips failed | Grab Celery Instead |
| 11/29/2012 | 8:00pm | got a sweater | Stressful Afternoon | The sweater looks great and is more comfortable then other other! |
That's my chart for my temptation finders. The green is when I caved but would again and the orange is when I did something good to combat a bad temptation.
Big Road Block:
My knees have been in constant pain since August when I saw the Orthopedist. At the time, they just found fluid in my right knee and said it should clear up in six weeks. It's way more then six weeks and I am still stiff getting up in the morning and standing up. Instead of stepping down stairs normally I have to do step together and rely heavily on the railing. I am going to my doctor on Monday but he might limit my exercise since I probably have arthritis. My breathing issues are consistent and I want them checked too. Even as I sit here typing this I am laboring in my breathing. That too might limit my exercise.
edit: I did go to the doctor and I do have to keep exercise to about an hour almost every day but not really more. My breathing was normal. We are working on this diet together and we'll see.
No comments:
Post a Comment